Treadmill with safety monitoring function and safety monitoring method for treadmil

ABSTRACT

A treadmill with a safety warning function includes a miming unit, a driving unit, a detection unit and a control unit. The running unit includes a driving roller and a running belt provided for a runner to stand thereon. The detection unit includes a camera arranged at a predefined height range on top of the running belt for photographing images. The control unit determines a height of the runner based on the images photographed. The safety monitoring method for the treadmill includes obtaining an image above the running belt and determining whether the height of the runner is greater than the predefined height. By determining whether the height of the runner is greater than the predefined height, it is able to determine whether the driving roller can be driven by the driving unit to rotate, thereby preventing the hazard of accidental activation by a child of insufficient height.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

The present invention is related to an exercise equipment, and inparticular, to a treadmill with a safety monitoring function and asafety monitoring method for a treadmill.

2. Description of Related Art

As people value heath more seriously nowadays, a lot of people install atreadmill at their own homes, such that they are able to use thetreadmill to perform exercise at home regardless of the outdoor weathercondition.

However, in comparison to gym, the home environment is relatively morecomplicated to ensure safe operation of the equipment. For example, inthe event that a child at home activates the treadmill without adultsupervision, or the treadmill is accidentally activated, injury mayoccur under such a situation.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to provide atreadmill with a safety monitoring function capable of preventingaccidental activation by a child.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a safetymonitoring method for a treadmill capable of preventing accidentalactivation by a child.

To achieve the objectives, the present invention provides a treadmillwith a safety monitoring function, allowing a runner to stand and runthereon. The treadmill with a safety monitoring function comprises arunning unit, a driving unit, a detection unit, and a control unit.

The running unit comprises a base, two side rails arranged spaced apartfrom each other and extending rearward from the base, a driving rollerand a driven roller pivotally installed between the side rails, and arunning belt arranged between the side rails and mounted on the drivingroller and the driven roller and provided for the runner to stand andrun thereon. A front-rear direction is defined along an extensiondirection of each one of the side rails.

The driving unit is arranged on the base and is configured to drive thedriving roller to rotate in order to drive the running belt to rotatearound the driving roller and the driven roller, thereby allowing therunner to run forward along the front-rear direction on the runningbelt.

The detection unit comprises a camera. The camera is arranged at apredefined height range on top of the running belt for photographing,and is configured to photograph an image of the runner.

The control unit is electrically connected to the driving unit and thedetection unit for transmitting signals. The control unit is able toanalyze a height of the runner based on the image photographed by thecamera. When the height of the runner is greater than a predefinedheight, the control unit controls the driving roller to be driven by thedriving unit.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a safety monitoring methodfor a treadmill, applicable to a treadmill and a runner standing on thetreadmill. The treadmill includes a running belt. The safety monitoringmethod for a treadmill comprises an image photographing step and anactivation analysis step.

The image photographing step is to obtain an image of a predefinedheight range on top of the running belt of the treadmill.

The activation analysis step is to analyze whether the image obtained atthe image photographing step contains the runner, and to analyze whethera height of the runner is greater than a predefined height. If theheight of the runner is greater than the predefined height, and a firstmonitoring output is generated.

The technical effects of the present invention are as follows. Throughthe image photographed at the predefined height on top of the runningbelt, the image may be analyzed to determine whether the image containsthe runner, and to determine whether the height of the runner is greaterthan the predefined height. Accordingly, a determination standard may beapplied for determining whether the driving roller can be driven by thedriving unit to rotate, thereby preventing the hazard due to accidentalactivation by a child of insufficient height.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and technical effects of the present invention will beillustrated clearly in the accompanied drawings and the embodiments asfollows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the treadmill with asafety monitoring function of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the embodiment of the present inventionand a runner;

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an image photographing step and anactivation analysis step of a safety monitoring method for a treadmillaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another flow chart illustrating the image photographing stepand a falling analysis step of the safety monitoring method for atreadmill; and

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a change of the embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , showing a treadmill with a safetymonitoring function according to an embodiment of the present invention,allowing a runner 9 to stand and run thereon. The treadmill with asafety monitoring function comprises a running unit 1, a driving unit 2,a detection unit 3, an input unit 4 and a control unit 5. The input unit4 can be operated to input a command. The command is related to anactivation information.

The running unit 1 comprises a base 11, two side rails 12 arrangedspaced apart from each other and extending rearward from the base 11, adriving roller 13 and a driven roller 14 pivotally installed between theside rails 12, and a running belt 15 pivotally installed between theside rails 12 and mounted on the driving roller 13 and the driven roller14 and provided for the runner 9 to stand thereon, two handrails 16extended upward from the side rails 12, and a front base 17 connectedbetween the handrails 16 and located on top of a front end of therunning belt 15. A front-rear direction X is defined along an extensiondirection of each one of the side rails 12.

In this embodiment, the driving roller 13 is located at the front side,and the driven roller 14 is located at the rear side. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such configuration.

The driving unit 2 is arranged on the base 11 and is configured to drivethe driving roller 13 to rotate in order to drive the running belt 15 torotate around the driving roller 13 and the driven roller 14, therebyallowing the runner 9 to run forward along the front-rear direction X onthe running belt 15.

The detection unit 3 comprises a camera 31. The camera 31 is arranged ata predefined height range above the running belt 15 for photographing,and is configured to photograph an image of the runner 9. In thisembodiment, the camera 31 is arranged on the front base 17 and isconfigured to photograph rearward in order to photograph the image ofthe runner 9. In this embodiment, the predefined height range is between140 cm and 190 cm; however, the present invention is not limited to suchrange.

The control unit 5 is electrically connected to the driving unit 2, theinput unit 4 and the detection unit 3 for transmitting signals.

The control unit 5 is able to analyze a height of the runner 9 based onthe image photographed by the camera 31. In this embodiment, the controlunit 5 is able to analyze a head position of the runner 9 based on theimage photographed by the camera 31 and to analyze the height of therunner 9 based on the head position of the runner 9.

When the height of the runner 9 is greater than a predefined height, thecontrol unit 5 controls the driving roller 13 to be driven by thedriving unit 2. In addition, when the height of the runner 9 is notgreater than the predefined height, it is able to control the drivingroller 13 to prevent it from being driven by the driving unit 2. In thisembodiment, the predefined height range is 150 cm, however the presentinvention is not limited to such height.

The control unit 5 is configured to continuously analyze a change of theheight of the runner 9 based on the image photographed by the camera,and to control the driving unit 2 and to control a rotational speed ofthe driving roller 13 when a maximum height change of the runner 9within a predefined time is greater than a predefined height difference.In this embodiment, the predefined time is 5 seconds, and the predefinedheight difference is 30 cm, however the present invention is not limitedto such height.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , during the actualapplication, the treadmill with a safety monitoring function cancooperate with a safety monitoring method for a treadmill to performmonitoring. The safety monitoring method for a treadmill comprises animage photographing step S1, an activation analysis step S2 and afalling analysis step S3.

The image photographing step S1 is to obtain an image within thepredefined height range on top of the running belt of the treadmill 15.

The activation analysis step S2 is to analyze whether the image obtainedat the image photographing step S1 containing the runner 9, and toanalyze whether a height of the runner 9 is greater than the predefinedheight. If the height of the runner 9 is greater than the predefinedheight, a first monitoring output is generated.

In this embodiment, the activation analysis step S2 is to analyzewhether the image obtained contains an object, and then to analyzewhether a head portion of the object in the image can be identified.Next, the head position of the runner 9 is determined, following whichthe height of the runner 9 is determined based on the head position ofthe runner 9.

The falling analysis step S3 is to continuously analyze a height changeof the runner 9 based on the image obtained in the image photographingstep S1, and to generate a second monitoring output when a maximumheight change of the runner 9 within the predefined time is greater thanthe predefined height difference.

When the runner 9 uses the treadmill with a safety monitoring functionand inputs the command via the input unit 4 such that the running belt15 is expected to be activated for rotation, the control unit 5 executesthe image photographing step S1 and the activation analysis step S2first.

When the first monitoring output is generated in the activation analysisstep S2 (meaning that the height of the runner 9 is greater than thepredefined height), the control unit 5 is able to control the drivingroller 13 to be driven by the driving unit 2 (such as: allowing thedriving unit 2 to be electrically conducted), thereby allowing therunning belt 15 to rotate.

When no first monitoring output is generated in the activation analysisstep S2 (meaning that the height of the runner 9 is not greater than thepredefined height), the control unit 5 is able to control the drivingroller 13 to prevent it from being driven by the driving unit 2 (such aspreventing electrical conduction of the driving unit 2), such that eventhe runner 9 has inputted the command via the input unit 4, the runningbelt 15 still cannot be driven to rotate. Accordingly, it is able toprevent accidental activation of the treadmill with a safety monitoringfunction by a child of insufficient height.

In addition, during the rotation of the running belt 15, the controlunit 5 is able to execute the image photographing step S1 and thefalling analysis step S3.

When the falling analysis step S3 generates the second monitoring output(meaning that the maximum height change of the runner 9 within thepredefined time is greater than the predefined height difference), itmeans that the runner 9 might have fallen down. Accordingly, the controlunit 5 is able to control the driving unit 2 to control the rotationalspeed of the driving roller 13, in order to reduce the rotational speedof the driving roller 13 and to stop it gradually, or allow the drivingroller 13 to stop immediately, thereby preventing the runner 9 frombeing caught in the gap between the running belt 15 and one of the siderails 12 due to continuous movement of the running belt 15.

Accordingly, through the image photographed at the predefined height ontop of the running belt 15, the image can be analyzed to determinewhether the image contains the runner 9, and to determine whether theheight of the runner 9 is greater than the predefined height. As aresult, it can be used as a determination standard for determiningwhether the driving roller 13 can be driven by the driving unit 2 torotate, thereby preventing the hazard due to accidental activation by achild of insufficient height.

It shall be noted that in this embodiment, the camera 31 is arranged atthe front base 17, and is configured to photograph rearward in order tophotograph the image of the runner 9. However, the present invention isnot limited to such configuration only, In another embodiment, thecamera 31 can also be arranged at other locations, such as thearrangement on a wall 8 as shown in FIG. 6 , and as long as the camera31 is able to photograph image of the predefined height on top of therunning belt 15 for providing the image for analyzing whether the heightof the runner 9 is greater than the predefined height in order toachieve the same purpose, such arrangement is considered acceptable andwithin the scope of the present invention.

In view of the above, for the treadmill with a safety monitoringfunction and the safety monitoring method for a treadmill of the presentinvention, through the image photographed at the predefined height abovethe running belt 15, the image can be analyzed to determine whether theimage contains the runner 9, and to determine whether the height of therunner 9 is greater than the predefined height. Accordingly, it can beused a determination standard for determining whether the driving roller13 can be driven by the driving unit 2 to rotate, thereby preventing thehazard due to accidental activation by a child of insufficient height.As a result, it is able to achieve the objectives of the presentinvention.

It shall be understood that the above description is provided toillustrate the possible embodiments of the present invention only, andit shall not be treated as limitation to the implementation scope of thepresent invention. All mere and equivalent changes and modificationsmade based on the scope of the claims and the content of thespecification of the present invention shall be considered to be withinthe scope of the claims of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A treadmill with a safety monitoring function,capable of allowing a runner to stand thereon, the treadmill with asafety monitoring function comprising: a running unit comprising a base,two side rails arranged spaced apart from each other and extendingrearward from the base, a driving roller and a driven roller pivotallyinstalled between the side rails, and a running belt arranged betweenthe side rails and mounted on the driving roller and the driven rollerand provided for the runner to stand thereon, a front-rear directiondefined along an extension direction of each one of the side rails; adriving unit arranged on the base and configured to drive the drivingroller to rotate in order to drive the running belt to rotate around thedriving roller and the driven roller, thereby allowing the runner to runforward along the front-rear direction on the running belt; a detectionunit comprising a camera, the camera arranged at a predefined heightrange above the running belt for photographing and configured tophotograph an image of the runner; and a control unit electricallyconnected to the driving unit and the detection unit for transmittingsignals, the control unit configured to determine a height of the runnerbased on the image photographed by the camera, such that when the heightof the runner is greater than a predefined height, the control unitcontrols the driving roller to be driven by the driving unit.
 2. Thetreadmill with a safety monitoring function according to claim 1,wherein the control unit is configured to determine a head position ofthe runner based on the image photographed by the camera and todetermine the height of the runner based on the head position of therunner.
 3. The treadmill with a safety monitoring function according toclaim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to continuously analyzea change of the height of the runner based on the image photographed bythe camera, and to control the driving unit and to control a rotationalspeed of the driving roller when a maximum height change of the runnerwithin a predefined time is greater than a predefined height difference.4. The treadmill with a safety monitoring function according to claim 1,wherein the running unit further comprises two handrails extendingupward from the side rails, and a front base connected between thehandrails and located on top of a front end of the running belt; andwherein the camera of the detection unit is arranged at the front baseand configured to photograph rearward in order to photograph the imageof the runner.
 5. A safety monitoring method for a treadmill, applicableto a treadmill and a runner standing on the treadmill, and the treadmillhaving a running belt, the safety monitoring method for a treadmillcomprising: an image photographing step for obtaining an image of apredefined height range on top of the running belt of the treadmill; andan activation analysis step for determining whether the image obtainedat the image photographing step containing the runner, and determiningwhether a height of the runner is greater than a predefined height, andgenerating a first monitoring output when the height of the runner isgreater than the predefined height.
 6. The safety monitoring functionfor a treadmill according to claim 5, wherein the activation analysisstep is to determine a head position of the runner first, and thendetermine the height of the runner based on the head position of therunner.
 7. The safety monitoring function for a treadmill according toclaim 6, further comprising a falling analysis step, the fallinganalysis step configured to continuously analyze a height change of therunner based on the image obtained in the image photographing step, andgenerating a second monitoring output when a maximum height change ofthe runner within a predefined time is greater than a predefined heightdifference.